


Where You Least Expect It

by faerieprincess



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2018-12-25 19:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12042417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerieprincess/pseuds/faerieprincess
Summary: All the students in Harry's year at Hogwarts had to go back for another, extra year to make up for their lack of education, due to incompetent teachers and the war in general. In the midst of everything else that's going on, there are a few people who just happen to be finding... something, where they least expected it.





	1. Chapter 1

    “Are you… are you reading Jelani Morrison’s The Periwinkle?” 

    Pansy glanced up. She had been enjoying a pleasant afternoon in Hogsmead’s bookshop by herself, with a mug of cocoa, browsing old and new titles, and was not at all pleased to find herself looking at little miss perfect Hermione Granger. 

    “As a matter of fact, yes, I am. And?” She gave her her haughtiest, holier-than-thou look, just wanting to be left alone. 

    “Nothing, it’s just that I love that book.”

    “Of course you do.” Pansy sighed, rolling her eyes. “You’re sooo smart, you read every book just because!”

    Damn. Now that they were all in eighth year and the war was over, Pansy had been hoping to put her old rivalries to rest, to bury the hatchet, as it were. She was all too aware of the fact that the stupid golden trio had been vital in ending the war, had gone through unimaginable horrors to reach that goal, while her family, as well as many of her friends, were on the opposite side. The evil side.

    She took a deep breath. Swallow your pride, two little words-

    “Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you.” Hermione said, slipping into the seat across from her, seemingly unfazed. 

    Pansy nearly spilled her cocoa, cursing under her breath as she barely stopped it from toppling over. 

    “Yes? What is it? I don’t have all day, you know.” She said in a rush, pushing her black hair out of her eyes in an attempt to appear, at least slightly, more composed. 

    Hermione looked like she was barely restraining a giggle, which caused Pansy to let out a small huff of frustration. 

    “Look, I don’t like you, and you don’t like me. However,” Hermione’s eyes held a wary look. “I think we can help each other.”

    “With what, exactly?” Pansy drawled. 

    “Have you noticed…” She hesitated, tugging on a lock of frizzy hair. “Well, it’s Harry. And not just Harry, but Draco, as well. Harry insists that they are no longer enemies, but he still obsesses over that boy like no one else. And don’t think I haven’t noticed the sneers and smirks Draco sends his way. So, I want them to talk. To become friends, at least. Get whatever weird obsession this is out of their system. What do you think?”

    “Are you… Are you insinuating that Draco Malfoy, the Draco Malfoy, wants to actually be friends with the golden boy, our so called saviour, Harry Potter?”

    “I think it’s more than just friends, Pansy.” Hermione said hesitantly. 

    “Best friends?” Pansy asked softly, knowing she was wrong. 

    “No…” Hermione trailed off, giving her a meaningful look. 

    Pansy stood up abruptly, once again nearly spilling her cocoa.

    “Are you saying that Draco is gay?” She hissed. 

    “Look, I’m just saying-”

    “No, you look here, missy! You can spread as many disgusting rumors about precious Potter as you want, but you leave Draco out of this!” She whirled around, barely remembering to grab her book and coat before running out into the street, heart pounding in fear. 

    She felt tears of frustration welling up, and roughly wiped them away, winding through all the stupid people to get to somewhere more private. 

    Of course she knew. She was his best friend, damn it. But she also knew just how dangerous it was to be different in the world. Hell, she was friends with people who thought that someone’s purity of wizard blood mattered, let alone something as wonderfully beautiful and important as love. And now, out of all people, Granger had figured it out. That stupidly foolish Draco Malfoy had the biggest crush on Harry Potter.

Harry. Freaking. Potter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny Weasley is all too familiar with the feeling of having a crush...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy, sorry for not posting in forever... Senior year of high school has been a whirlwind, and I actually have friends now and it turns out social lives are a thing, and I'm trying to publish my own book right now. Anyway, sorry for the wait, and I hope you like the new chapter!

Ginny Weasley knew all about crushes. How they could make your heart pound, your hands sweat, your thoughts a horribly tangled mess, your words terribly imperfect, and perhaps slightly nauseous? Yes, she knew that feeling all too well. 

There was a time when she had felt that way about the famed Harry Potter. Ah, Harry. The chosen one. The Boy Who Lived. The one with brilliant green eyes and adorably messy hair, the one who would always take a stand for the good in life, whether or not he wanted to. However, as incredible as he was, she was finding that someone else was now occupying that corner of her mind.

“Ginny!” Her best friend, Luna Lovegood, ran up to her, arms overflowing with autumn leaves. 

“Luna! What are you doing with all those leaves?” Ginny asked, her heart warming as she took in Luna’s messily braided hair and wide blue eyes. 

“I was studying bowtruckles, but I got distracted by the pretty colors.” Luna said in a very serious tone. “Actually, I was about to go visit Neville in the greenhouse, do you want to come?”

“Of course!” Ginny smiled as they walked side by side, close enough to touch. She brushed up against Luna a couple times by accident, but she didn’t mind at all. As a matter of fact, she wanted to be as close as possible. But Luna… Luna was the most oblivious person Ginny had ever met. And that was including Harry. Why was it that she seemed to have a weakness for the most oblivious people in the world? 

That wasn’t the only problem, she supposed. When Ginny had a crush on someone, she liked them deeply, thoroughly, and for a long, long time. Which meant that this was absolute torture. 

Luna prattled on about bowtruckles beside her, Ginny nodding and responding when appropriate, all too happy to just listen to the sound of her voice. 

“Ginny! Luna!” Neville cried from the greenhouse, catching sight of them. “What are you doing here?”

“We came to visit you, silly.” Ginny replied happily. 

Luna gave Neville a thoughtful look before handing him some of her leaves. “I think you might be able to use these. Yes, I think you’ll need them.” She said with a firm nod.

“Oh, well… thanks, Luna. Actually, I might be able to use these as compost… or just as decoration, they are really pretty. Oh! Before I forget, here.” He ran back into the greenhouse, only to come out with a few slightly withered sunflowers. “We’re supposed to use up all the sunflowers, but these ones can’t be used for any spells, so I thought you two might want them.”

Luna’s eyes widened in delight. “Oh, why would you ever want to get rid of these?"

It took Ginny a while to find these two, but they were the best friends that she could ever ask for. Did she really want to possibly ruin this beautiful thing she had for a chance for Luna to love her back? 

“You know, I think sunflowers are my favorite flowers.” Ginny said.

“They are very pretty.” Luna agreed. “They're so colorful and bright! They demand to be seen, and even their name sounds cheerful.” She glanced over at her ginger friend. “I think if you were a flower, you'd probably be a sunflower.”

“What flower would I be?” Neville asked excitedly, as if Luna hadn't just said the most adorable thing in the world.

“Hmm…” Luna thought for a moment, cocking her head as she gazed into Neville's eyes. “Perhaps a lily?”

“I do like lilies… but don't you think that lilies are a bit too elegant for me?”

“Nonsense! Neville, you have a very beautiful, elegant, gentle soul, you are very much a lily.” Luna retorted.

Neville gave a small embarrassed laugh as Luna led the way back to the castle.

Ginny watched the two of them, following a few steps behind. These two were so small and precious (even though Neville was taller than her by a bit), and they needed to be protected. Their friendship was special, she didn't want to ruin anything, especially not by hoping for more than Luna wanted.

Yes, Ginny was quite certain that this silly, horrible, beautiful crush of hers must be left to die.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a problem.

Harry had a problem. A problem that sported pale blond hair and gray eyes that positively sparkled in the chilly October air.   
Harry watched Draco from a distance, where he was talking with his friends and laughing at Crabbe and Goyle's antics. His pale cheeks were flushed, arms crossed against his chest, as his typical slytherin scarf fluttered in the breeze, mimicking Harry's heart when Draco laughed at something particularly amusing.  
Draco. When did Harry stop referring to him as Malfoy, in the comfort of his own mind? Exactly when was it that he found himself entranced by his laugh and constant sarcasm?  
This was absolutely ridiculous. Ever since that fated day when Harry had turned down Draco's offer of friendship, they had been sworn enemies. One, the golden boy who lived, destined to be a hero. The other, the silver prince of slytherin, from a family of villains. Perhaps it was that that drew Harry's mind to the other boy so often; the fact that they seemed to come from opposite sides of a coin.   
“Harry! Are you even listening to me at all?” Harry's tall, ginger best friend asked, an exasperated expression on his face.  
“Um, yeah, something about ‘mione and...flowers?”  
“Bloody hell, mate, can't you focus on something other than Malfoy for one bleeding second?”  
Harry felt heat rise to his face. “It's a force of habit! I'm used to checking up on him to make sure he's staying out of trouble, and I just want to make sure he's adjusting to normal life alright.”  
“Whatever you say, mate, but as I was saying before you got lost in Malfoy's cold, dead eyes, I think ‘mione's up to something. She went to the bookstore today, but it was like she was dreading it, about to face a dragon or something. I even gave her flowers this morning, and she wasn't completely overjoyed! What do you reckon she's up to?”  
“Ron, I'm going to say this as a friend, but have you ever considered that you might have to step your game up a bit, as the muggles would say?”  
“I gave her flowers, mate, what else do you expect?”  
“Well, for one thing, you could do something romantic, with just the two of you? It seems like you guys never spend any time without me anymore.”  
“Oh, that's rich, romantic advice coming from the bloke my sister dumped.”  
“It was a mutual understanding, and you know it, Ron.”  
Ron sighed, setting down his butterbeer. “Well, what do you have in mind? I just… I don't know how to treat her right. She's so smart, and beautiful, and brave, and I'm nothing special, you know?”  
“Ron, you're bloody brilliant. You've always been there for Hermione and me, and anyone can tell you worship the ground Hermione walks on. And she loves you, too. So much.”  
Ron cracked a small grin, his ears a bit pink. “So what do you reckon I should do?”  
“Okay, here's the plan…” As Harry spoke, he felt a small pang in his heart. He loved Ron and Hermione, and he loved them as a couple, but these days, it was hard to be alone and not be overwhelmed with dark thoughts and memories from the war. To not think of everyone who had been lost, and all the people who would never get a second chance, or laugh with their family members, ever again.  
His two best friends knew that, and they suffered from the same pain, but Harry knew that they needed time alone together as a couple.  
When Harry and Ginny broke up, it hurt, but not as much as Harry expected it to. So much had happened in the past year that he couldn't ignore, and he knew he wasn't being the boyfriend she deserved. They resolved to still be good friends, and he still admired her, but it was different, somehow.  
“You really think ‘mione will like this?” Ron asked nervously.   
“Of course! Going to the bookstore together, having a picnic by the lake...she'll be over the moon.”  
“Thanks, mate. She worries about you, you know. You're a little different than you used to be.”  
“I grew up, Ron, that's all.” Harry replied. He knew he had changed a bit. No longer quite as mischievous and sarcastic, more withdrawn and quiet… to the general public he seemed fine, but to his two best friends in all the world? They knew him better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just some quick updates: I'm now in college and stressing, but I'm planning on posting my original novel here sometime soon, so look forward to it! I'm also planning on moving my Yuri on Ice fanfic over here from wattpad, so if that's your jam then stay tuned, I'm thinking I'll post it late November-ish.


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